Breakfast with Dave, Ebbetts Pass, home

After the rain yesterday afternoon and evening Friday morning was clear but a chilly 50 degrees as I loaded the bike. I met Dave at the Carson Valley Inn in Minden and we talked politics, technology, and TV shows for two hours over French toast and lots of coffee. When I left the CVI parking lot it had warmed to 60 degrees, but the sun was warm on my back as I rode south on NV 88 to the California border. A few more miles and I went left on Highway 89 through Markleeville, and then west on 4 to climb up to the 8700 foot summit of Ebbetts Pass. There were only a few cars on the road, the road itself was recently surfaced and lined, and it was a great ride to the top.

The ride up to Ebbetts Pass

 

I began to notice patches of fresh snow in the shadows alongside the road, evidence that yesterday's rain in the valley had produced snow at higher elevations. Highway 4 descends a bit to Hermit Valley, and there are a couple of small lakes on the south side of 4 that are probably fed by the Mokelumne River.

As Highway 4 climbed out of Hermit Valley to the 8000 foot Pacific Grade summit it became dirtier, with patches of mud and pine needles, which caused me to take a bit of extra caution. The road began its descent towards Bear Valley, but before it widened I encountered the unusual sight of a semi-trailer coming at me. There was no way the rig would be able to negotiate the sharp turns near the passes, so I assumed that it was going to pick up horses at a camp near Lake Alpine. In fact there were two other semis heading up and I passed one on the way down.

The temperature rose to a pleasant 70 at Bear Valley and gradually got up to 75 through Big Trees and I finally stopped in Angels Camp at Highway 49 for lunch. I had a turkey and avacado sandwich and coffee at a small cafe on 49, and I'll have to remember the place - the food and coffee were good. I also had a conversation with a couple from San Diego on a BMW GS who had been riding around in northern California. They were spending the night in Bridgeport before heading for home tomorrow. West of Angels Camp there's a 12 mile stretch of hills and curves before the road flattens after Copperopolis. From there it's a pleasant if unexciting ride to Stockton, the grassy hills golden in the Autumn light. After an unplanned half hour tour of Stockton (I missed the turnoff for the Highway 4 bypass - I think that you have to get on 99 north for one exit) I reconnected with 4, which I followed to I-5, then I-205 to Tracy, then I-580 to Castro Valley, the San Mateo Bridge to 101 and home, arriving a little after 5:30. Traffic was slow at various places in my direction (it was Friday evening rush hour after all) but it looked like 580 was a solid backup in the eastbound direction all the way from Livermore to Tracy.

The Suzuki once again proved to be an excellent long distance hauler, averaging 54-58 mpg over the 4300 miles of the trip with zero problems. My friend, Geo, called this trip the hajj to nowhere, and maybe he is right, but sometimes those are the best kind.

Home after 11 days and 4300 miles.

Fallon redeemed, rain

Since I was in no particular hurry this morning I left a little after 8:30 following breakfast at the Silver State Restaurant a short walk from the motel. It was partly sunny and a cool 60 degrees as I slowly rode through Ely, then sped up out of town to the 70 limit. Over three passes and into Eureka, then over another pass before climbing the Austin summit and descending into Austin. I thought that I might stop at the Austin museum, but it was closed, so I got gas at the Chevron station on the west end of town. A German (?) guy on an Indian Scout was at the next pump and I asked him how he liked the bike. He said it was OK, but that it wobbled at 40 mph - he made a shaking motion with his arms. I looked at the right side of the bike and noticed that the saddlebag was scraped, and also the right hand grip. I asked if he was OK, and he flexed his hand and said, "OK to ride - that's what's important."

After Austin it is just a long haul to Fallon with just one more pass. I took a picture of the shoe tree a few miles past Cold Springs, and also the sand dunes at Sand Mountain.

The shoe tree 10 miles west of Cold Springs on US 50

Sand Mountain about 20 miles east of Fallon on US 50

When I'd checked the weather report yesterday evening there was a prediction of rain in Fallon, and that proved to be the case. It began about 10 miles outside of town and the temperature dropped from 70 to 60. I was determined to find  a decent cup of coffee and a snack in Fallon, and rode around the historic downtown area, which mostly seemed to consist of empty storefronts and nail salons. I saw a sign for Java Hut, but after I'd parked the bike I realized that it was another empty building. Then I saw a place called Courthouse Bakery, right on US 50 at Maine St. I hadn't noticed it because the script for the sign was hard to decipher, and it's a busy intersection. I went inside and piled my rain gear in a corner, and found that it was a very nice place. I had a tuna salad and avacado sandwich on the bakery bread, and the coffee was good, but the real treat was a slice of  excellent strawberry/rhubarb pie. When I mentioned to the waitress that this seemed to be the only cafe in town, she advised me that there was a coffee shop called the Daily Grind next to Jerry's Restaurant on the west end of town - for future reference.

Much refreshed, I put my gear back on and headed out into the rain. The temperature dropped to a little under 60 - just warm enough that I didn't want to stop and put on my electric vest. The  60 miles to Carson City on US 50 went quickly and rather than take the bypass around the downtown to 395 I rode through the downtown area past the State buildings. I noticed that the Ormsby House seems to be undergoing yet another renovation.

I'm staying in Gardnerville at the Westerner Motel, just a couple of miles from the Carson Valley Inn, where I'll meet Dave for breakfast tomorrow.